The Lady of the Rivers Volume 1

By: Philippa Gregory

Narrated by: Bianca Amato

#1 New York Times bestselling author and “queen of royal fiction” (USA TODAY) Philippa Gregory brings to life the story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman of passion and of legend who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the War of the Roses to bring her family unimaginable power.

When the young and beautiful Jacquetta is married to the older Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the duke’s squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.

The Woodvilles soon achieve a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though Jacquetta has visions of the growing threat from the people of England and the danger of their royal York rivals. Jacquetta fights for her king and queen, as she sees an extraordinary and unexpected future for her daughter Elizabeth: a change of fortune, the white rose of York, and the throne of England…

Not All Historical Figures are Equal

I enjoy this author, but I'm not a Gregory junkie. i buy her work based on simple things. This book intrigued me because I didn't know Lady Rivers (Duchess) story and I like the less known stories of people around the famous ones.

Plus, she tells a good tale and doesn't get bogged down in the history. After reading (listening) what I found fun to do was to read the reviews. So many people seem to rate this tale based on how the author treated the raters favorite women in history.

***SPOILER ALERT***
If you are a Margaret fan, you'll probably not enjoy this read. And the last quarter of the book dragged because of the repeatitiveness, i.e. off to battle, think loved ones will die, but surprisingly they don't.

But it was nice to see a loving couple do well. And Lady Rivers had 12 children! Oh my!

Fabulous!

I loved this book. The story was great. the narration was wonderful, and I turned it on whenever I had a free moment at home, in the car, at lunch, where ever. The characters were engaging. Jacquetta was very likeable. I can't wait to start The White Queen.

The king's curse begins here

A very fun and interesting book to listen to. A page burner and the narrator is perfect. I highly recommend this book to begin your journey to Henry the 8th and all his escapades. This is how the King's Curse took place which is the title of a another book by this author and narrator. Happy listening to you. 😁

Excellent historical fiction

I love Phillipa Gregory. Her historical knowledge combined with her imagination and writing skills make for such excellent books to read/listen to. Bianca Amato is one of my favorite narrators!! Great combo between the two of them.

Great story!

Loved this book! I've seen The White Queen on Netflix so I was familiar with some of the characters :) I don't want to provide any spoilers so I'll end with this....get this book!